


Bullworth Love Connection

by Mini0n



Category: Bully (Video Games)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Cry Cute, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Second-Hand Embarrassment
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:53:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21986200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mini0n/pseuds/Mini0n
Summary: Love works in weird ways.(One-shots focusing on the relationships between the students at Bullworth. Crackships. Generally fluffy bullshit.)
Relationships: Constantinos Brakus/Ivan Alexander, Constantinos Brakus/Parker Ogilvie, Davis White/Wade Martin, Derby Harrington/Bif Taylor, Justin Vandervelde/Chad Morris, Larry "Peanut" Romano/Johnny Vincent, Lucky De Luca/Lefty Mancini
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23





	1. Constantinos/Ivan

**Author's Note:**

> I've been writing short Bully fanfictions since 2013, and figured it's time to post them somewhere. Since they've been written over the course of 7 years, they will probably vary in quality. I should also probably mention that I'm usually an artist, not a writer. So go easy on me?
> 
> This format was inspired by one of my favorite Psychonauts fanfictions "Love Works in Weird Ways" by FluffleNeCharka on fanfiction.net.

The mascot trudged back into the dorm, free of his heavy costume but now decorated from head to toe in colorful lumps and bruises. He wasn’t sure how long he was passed out in the near-empty pool, but it was long enough for his fingers to get pruney. Long enough for it to get dark outside.

Part of him was glad that it was dark; the cold night air against his soggy skin and clothing was unpleasant, but nowhere near as unpleasant as it would be if there were students around to see him in nothing but his dripping underclothes. The prefects weren’t even an issue; Constantinos was so accustomed to staying out of their line of sight that it hardly registered in his mind that they were there. But if other students saw him in his underwear, he knew that he would never be able to live it down.

He was hoping that Ivan would be asleep when he dragged his exhausted body into their room, but he knew that there was a 50% chance that, even at such a late hour, he’d be up and about.

Of course, with Constantinos’ luck, he was sitting at his desk studying when he opened the door.

“God dammit, Ivan, can’t you just go to sleep like a normal person for once in your life?” The black-haired youth grumbled as he dug for his towel. The last thing he wanted was to submerge himself in water again, but he felt a film of dried chlorine caked over his skin and there was no way he was going to sleep without washing it off. Hopefully the hot water would warm his chilled bones, too.

“Where have you been, man?” Ivan asked, not even bothering to look up from his textbook. “You’re lucky you didn’t get busted for staying out after curfew.” Constantinos sighed, not bothering to acknowledge his roommate’s concerns. He was just too tired and weak to bother with small talk.

As much as the mascot hated to admit it, a hot shower felt nice. It was unnerving to see the blood run down his body with the water; he didn’t remember bleeding that much, but wherever the blood was coming from didn’t hurt any more than the rest of him. He made a mental note to apply some medical ointment to the cuts next morning; with his luck, they’d get infected and he’d have to go to the hospital.

He dried off and put on his pajamas before making his way quietly back down to his room. A sliver of light shone from beneath the door; either Ivan was still awake or he’d fallen asleep at his desk again. Either way, it made Constantinos curse under his breath. He cracked the door open slowly, slinking inside and locking it behind him. Ivan was in bed, but his headphones were on and he seemed absorbed in his laptop, which he balanced on his chest. Constantinos just threw himself into bed and closed his eyes, pulling his blanket to his chin and rolling over to face the wall.

  
It was only once he laid down to sleep that the full implications of what had happened that day finally hit him.

He wasn’t the mascot anymore. His costume was gone- forcibly stolen off his back. He didn’t think that Jimmy Hopkins hated him _this_ much, but apparently he was mistaken. Everyone else hated him- why would Hopkins be any different? _Just go to sleep, Constantinos, you’ll have forgotten all about it when you wake up next morning._ He hated himself for crying, but self-loathing was so familiar to him that it barely even hurt. He wiped the tears from his cheeks with his palm, sniffling and taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down.

He jumped at the sudden touch of Ivan’s hands firmly pushing his back.

  
“Move over,” He demanded in his usual tired-sounding tone. “I’m joining you.”

“Good grief! Why can’t you just leave me alone?” The ex-mascot whimpered, pulling the blanket over his head. His roommate rolled his tired eyes and sighed. With great effort, he managed to push Constantinos over enough to slip in behind him.

“I don’t know what you’re upset about, or what you were doing out until one in the morning, but you look like you could use some sleep,” Ivan yawned, slipping his arms gently around Constantinos’ chest from behind. “I won’t ask, it’s none of my business.” He paused briefly, resting his head on Constantinos’ shoulder. “I read somewhere that human contact is a natural remedy for depression, stress and anxiety. If you want me to get out, fine. But I won’t judge you if you want me to stay.”

Constantinos was still and quiet. On one hand, what kind of teenage boy cuddled with his friend? A gay one, maybe. Was Constantinos gay? He didn’t know, and didn’t want to pursue that line of thought any farther, especially while Ivan was snuggled up to his behind.

But on the other hand, the warm, soft firmness of a human body against his chilled skin was comforting in a powerful, ego-melting way. And Ivan wasn’t the type to spread rumors; one of the things that Constantinos liked most about him, even through his obnoxious sleeping habits and moments of aloofness, was that he was one of the more trustworthy students at Bullworth. He could be trusted with moments of weakness. He understood.

  
Constantinos rolled over to face him, wiping away the tears that remained on his cheeks. He rested his forehead against Ivan’s shoulder.

“Fine. It’s not like I have any dignity left, anyways,” He grumbled.

“That’s the spirit.”


	2. Derby/Bif

“Bif!”

The redhead flinched as he heard his name echo harshly down the hallway. He could recognize that tone of voice anywhere; Derby was angry at something or someone, and Bif could only pray that it wasn’t him this time. He wanted more than anything to walk off in the other direction, pretending that he hadn’t heard anything, but he knew that doing so would only get him in deeper trouble.

“Yeah?” He called back from the doorway hesitantly, his grimace audible in his voice.

“Get in here, Bif!”

Bif stumbled into the room gracelessly, slightly startled by Derby’s temper. Derby’s dorm was spacious and luxurious as one might expect; Bif had been inside countless times before, but every time there seemed to be something new to gawk at. The blonde aristocrat sat impatiently on the edge of his bed, arms crossed angrily over his chest, his face twisted into a bratty pout. Bif cracked a sheepish smile.

“What’s up?”

“I’m absolutely infuriated, Bif,” Derby huffed. “Do you know what daddy told me today?” Bif swallowed hard, but his anxiety was partially put to rest by the fact that he probably wasn’t the subject of Derby’s rage.

“I don’t know. I don’t really keep track of your familial relations.”

“He said that I am not allowed to add another hall onto the Harrington house!” Usually Derby would scold Bif for his insolence, but he seemed to be too passionately angry about the topic at hand to care. “Something about how this dump has been the same for generations, ‘tradition’ and all that. Can you believe it? Tradition is for poor people who can’t buy something better every year. We have the money!” Bif shrugged.

“That sucks,” He muttered with a chuckle. “But hey, what can you do about it?” Derby patted the silk bedding to the side of him, beckoning for Bif to sit down next to him. Bif sat down cautiously.

“I’ll tell you just what I can do, my boy,” Derby’s voice took on a more mischievous tone. “I’m going to be as rebellious as I need to until the old man gives me what I want. And you’re going to help.”

“What does that mean?” Bif’s voice cracked mid-question, and he cleared his throat. Darby gave Bif a devious smile, placing a well-manicured hand on the bulkier boy’s shoulder. Bif felt himself tense up; the only time that Derby ever touched him was when he wanted something from him.

“Bif, dear boy, you must understand,” Derby cooed. “My father would go to great lengths to avoid having his heir seen- oh, I don’t know- kissing another boy. What with all of his incredibly conservative peers, you know. If scandalous photos like that were to crop up-”

“You want me to kiss you?” Bif sputtered, taken aback by the request.

“Precisely, my boy,” Derby said with a sly grin. “It’ll all be in good fun, of course. Nothing serious. And you will surely get a suitable reward.” He placed his other hand on Bif’s knee coquettishly, and the redhead blushed.

Bif could barely choke out a reluctant ‘ok’ before Derby’s tongue was in his mouth. He hadn’t done much kissing in his life, contrary to what one might believe given his muscular body and attractive face, and he certainly hadn’t ever kissed a boy before. It was a rougher, more violent kiss than any girl had ever given him; it confused and dizzied him, but it was a forceful feeling that he could lean into.

As soon as the shock wore off and he was able to enjoy it, however, it was over.

“Oh yes, these will do,” Derby snickered deviously, already preoccupied with flipping through the photos on his phone. Bif hadn’t even noticed that he’d taken them.


	3. Lucky/Lefty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is really short, but I thought it was cute so I'm including it anyways.

“My, my, look who’s gettin’ lucky wit Lefty,” Vance teased as he sauntered into the room, though the smooching denim-clad greasers on the couch barely batted an eyelash in response. “You guys just tryin’ to make a statement, or is Lucky finally fed up wit bein’ snubbed by all the girls?” The two of them finally separated with an audible smack, and Lefty wiped the spit from his mouth before finally acknowledging Vance’s existence.

“Ay, leave us be,” He grunted, waving the redhead away halfheartedly.

“You, of all people, actin’ all squeamish about two guys doin’ their thing,” Lucky said with disappointment, shaking his head. “You sure you’re not just jealous?” Vance threw himself down next to them in front of the television, not seeming to care whether or not he was ruining a moment.

“Aw yeah, a knockout like me, jealous of you,” Vance muttered. “You’re forgetting that I got the king of the school wrapped around my finger.”

“Same king of the school that’s always kissin’ on that Gordo kid?”

“Same king of the school that gave you crabs last year?”


	4. Justin/Chad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Justin/Chad a fave of mine, so I hereby decree that repeats may happen. My fanfiction my rules, biotches.

“This swimsuit is too small.”

Chad rolled his eyes, resting his chin on his hand. He was all for shopping, but shopping when he hadn’t any money to spend was one of the worst things he could imagine. Recently his father had cut off his allowance as punishment for being busted one too many times, and while it wasn’t enough to get him kicked out of Harrington house it was certainly enough to get the others to treat him like a lackey.

Today his chore was taking Justin shopping.

“That’s the largest size they have, Justin,” He sighed.

“That simply isn’t possible!” Justin whined indignantly from inside the changing room. “I don’t wear that large a size! You’ve seen my svelte figure!”

“Maybe you’re getting fat,” Chad teased, picking at his nails and trying to make himself comfortable on the changing room’s bench.

“That is _not_ funny, Chad.”

“It’s not swimming season, Justin,” Chad said with a sigh. “Even Aquaberry doesn’t have a full stock of swimsuits in the middle of winter. You may have to settle for buying a suit somewhere else.”

“I’m not even going to dignify that suggestion with a response.”

“Can we just go home, then? I’m bored.”

Justin conveniently ignored Chad’s suggestion.

“Perhaps I can just settle for this one. I can put it on, it’s just a little… small.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, come and look. It’s not as if I’m indecent.”

Chad pulled back the curtain and stepped into the spacious dressing room; Justin’s clothing sat neatly on the bench, and scattered about his bare feet were the many rejected swimming garments that Chad had brought for him. He’d seen Justin in nothing but swimming clothes countless times before, but for some reason this time it was a little bit embarrassing for him to see the boy in such scanty clothing. Still, he swallowed his pride and joined his friend at his side, inspecting the expensive little number that he was currently wearing.

“It looks fine to me,” Chad said, partially because he wanted to leave but also because it actually did look flattering on the thin boy. It was a brief styled suit with intricate stitching and a pleasant blue color, and it hugged Justin’s narrow hips snugly.

“I don’t see what the problem is.”

Justin pursed his lips, not making eye contact with Chad at all and instead focusing intently on the little piece of fabric in the mirror.

“It looks alright when I’m just standing in one place,” He mumbled, beginning to pace around the dressing room anxiously. “The problem is that it rides up in the back.” He walked back over to the mirror and pulled the back of the suit down over his buttocks with a snap, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Ah, so you’re worried about mooning the entire swim team,” Chad chuckled.

“Maybe I _am_ getting fat,” Justin pouted, hanging his head. “I have a fat butt.”

“Oh shush. You have a very attractive butt.”

Justin smiled.

“You’re such a good friend to say that,” he said with surprisingly genuine sentimentality. “Even if you’re currently poor.” Chad cringed, shuddering at the use of that word to describe _him_. He shot Justin a glare.

“I’m not in the same position, fortunately, so I have the luxury of buying this even though it’s not perfect. It’ll do until I can custom-order one and have it delivered to me.” Justin pulled the back of his suit over his cheeks one more time, modeling for himself in front of the mirror.

“That’s great, but may I leave now?” Chad asked impatiently. “I may not have money to spend, but I do have people to see.” Justin frowned, but sighed resignedly.

“I suppose so,” The brunette said. “You’ve done your duty.”

“Very well! I’ll see you around,” Chad breathed with relief, turning to get out of there as fast as possible. Before he could leave, however, Justin gave him a playful pat on the butt.

“Good hustle today, chap!” He chuckled when Chad shot him a look. “I’m getting to be more like a jock every day, aren’t I?”

“Remind me why I ever willingly hang out with you?”

“Because you love me, dear boy. Also, I have money. Now off with you, I need to get dressed.”


	5. Davis/Wade

“Just shut your hole, alright?” Davis snapped, shoving Wade roughly and storming off. “God dammit, I hate you guys.” Wade, Ethan and Troy burst into loud laughter, only stopping when Davis showed no sign of taking it lightly or coming back to fight them.

“C’mon, man, what’s your problem?” Ethan called. Davis didn’t respond, seeming to be either completely unaware of Ethan’s shouting or completely unwilling to react to it. Ethan shrugged to his friends.

“Man, what’s up with him?”

Troy furrowed his brow in hurt confusion.

“He’s always acting weird on us.”

“Hold up, let me handle this spaz,” Wade grumbled, motioning for his buddies to stay where they were while he went off to take care of Davis’ attitude. The rest of the clique knew that the two of them were best friends; if anyone knew how to stop Davis from being a temperamental jerk, it was Wade. The two of them were like night and day- Wade was constantly angry and confrontational, while lighthearted Davis had a hard time taking anything seriously- but, perhaps for that reason, they seemed to balance each other out.

Wade knocked out a “shave and a haircut” on the door of Davis’ dorm, punctuating it by kicking the “two bits” with the toe of his shoe. After a few seconds of hesitation, the door opened a crack and Wade slinked in.

“Hey, what gives?” Wade punched Davis softly on the arm before joining him where he sat on the edge of his bed. Davis sighed shakily.

“I’m sorry, okay?” Wade ruffled his hair.

“Nah, it’s okay.”

“I’m a wreck, man,” Davis whimpered, holding his head in his hands.

“Come on, let’s get this over with. Just get it out of your system.”

Davis wrapped his arms around the ginger bully and buried his face in his chest. Wade was used to this by now; he wasn’t by any means a master of loving or comforting or even being decent to people, but for some reason with Davis it came naturally. He pulled Davis into a tight hug, rubbing his back as he felt the bully’s body begin to quiver with tears. Davis kept it quiet out of fear that the nerds in the next room over would hear him, but let a couple whimpers and sniffles and hiccups escape when he knew he wouldn’t be able to hold them in.

“There we go. It’s okay, man, I’ve got you,” Wade said softly, letting Davis sob into his shoulder.

As usual, Davis just cried for eight or nine minutes before wiping his eyes and sheepishly thanking Wade, who would brush himself off and try to pretend, yet again, that nothing had happened.

He wouldn’t admit it to Davis or anyone else, but he always felt a little bittersweet when their time together was up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, this one was really saccharine.


	6. Johnny/Peanut

_“You think I didn’t know all this time?” Johnny whispered huskily between kisses, his tone accusatory but playful at the same time. One hand ventured up Peanut’s shirt, callused fingers exploring his back. The other was buried in his hair._

_“You’re so silly, Larry,” Lola giggled in his ear, pressing herself against him, trailing kisses down his jaw to his neck._

_Peanut was drowning in ecstasy, his eyes misty, his cheeks flushed- the kisses were so aggressive and constant he had difficulty distinguishing Johnny’s from Lola’s._

_“Johnny… Lola…” He moaned, breathless._

_“Oh, Larry…” Lola cooed, nibbling his ear._

_“C’mere, kid,” Johnny commanded, grabbing him roughly by the chin._

_“Larry. Larry?”_

Peanut blinked awake, feeling disoriented, his heart pounding in his ears. The first thing he noticed was the drool that had partially dried on his chin and left a dark spot on the sofa, and the second was the morning wood making his jeans feel uncomfortably tight. The third was Johnny Vincent standing over him, a quizzical look on his face.

He instinctively crossed his legs and wiped his chin, frantically scrambling into a seated position on the sofa. He was in the Blue Balls Pool Hall- he must’ve fallen asleep in front of the tv.

“Uh, u-uh, Johnny wh-what’re you doin’ here?” his words were slurred with sleep, and he realized after he’d said it that it was a foolish thing to ask. Johnny was the one who discovered Blue Balls, he was there all the time. Peanut blushed, averted his eyes. He could’ve _sworn_ he’d been kissing Johnny just a moment ago. It seemed so _real_. Part of him- the part of him that was still half asleep- hoped that Johnny would continue where his dream doppelganger had left off, help him take care of the little problem in his jeans.

“It’s funny,” Johnny seemed to ignore Peanut’s stupid question, strolled behind him to the bar. “I coulda swore I heard you moaning Lola’s name in here. I thought you’d betrayed me for a second.”

WHAP.

Peanut jumped as a dart unexpectedly shot into the dartboard on the wall behind him.

“Aw c’mon, Johnny, you know I’d never-“

WHAP.

“I was ready to beat you just for dreaming about her until I heard you saying my name too. Just what kind of dreams are you having, Larry?” Accusatory, less playful than he had sounded in the dream. Peanut flushed deep, guilt and mortification roiling in his belly. He knew that he sleep-talked, but he'd always hoped that it was indistinct mutterings. He winced at the implications- what secrets had he spilled in his sleep, and to whom?!

He did _not_ want to have this talk. Especially not half asleep and half hard.

“Johnny you know I’m loyal, I wouldn’t do nothing with that Lola! Honest!” His voice cracked. “I-I don’t even remember what I was dreamin’ about. Don’t matter anyways.” The lie was almost definitely audible in his voice. He remembered how dream Lola had smelled, how dream Johnny’s lips were surprisingly soft. His body _certainly_ remembered.

He kept hoping that the fear and humiliation would scare away his boner, but it was as stubborn as he was.

“I love you Larry, you know that, but you’re sorta weird sometimes,” Johnny’s voice was hard, but earnest. A long hesitation.

WHAP.

“You know, if there’s something you want to tell me…”

Peanut took a sheepish glance back at his leader. Johnny’s darts had all missed their mark, one even missing the board completely and stuck in the wall. He couldn’t tell for sure, but he thought Johnny might’ve been blushing too.

“Like… like what, Johnny?”

“I don’t know.”

Peanut considered it, bit his lip.

“You know I don’t keep nothing from you, Johnny,” He mumbled, not proud of his cowardice. “I’m loyal. I’ll always be loyal, you can count on me.” Johnny was quiet.

WHAP.

“Fair enough. Maybe you should sleep in your room from now on.”

“Right, Johnny.”

With that Johnny walked out of the Pool Hall, leaving Peanut to reflect on the incident that would haunt his dreams for years to come- and not in a good way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, this one was painful. 
> 
> Another that may have to be continued at some point. I can't stand to leave my boy Peanut like this...


	7. Parker/Constantinos

“Uh, where is everybody?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Constantinos narrowed his eyes suspiciously, sizing up the singular preppie who had shown up to greet him in front of the Old Bullworth Vale restaurant. He didn’t look like he was obviously trying to pull one over on Constantinos, but then again preppies never did.

When he’d invited Constantinos to dinner at a fancy- well, fancy for Bullworth- restaurant in town, Constantinos was sure that he was asking on behalf of the preppy clique. He’d never really noticed this one before, so he assumed that this preppie must have been one of the less important ones. An errand boy, sent to speak to someone that Derby or Tad couldn’t be bothered to speak to personally.

He’d assumed it had to do with his position in the school paper, which seemed to have blown up since he and Christy had sneakily added a gossip column to the back page without Galloway noticing. It was relatively easy, since Galloway still had plenty on his plate even with Hattrick gone.

It took the wind out of his sails a little bit that he still wasn’t important enough to even warrant an appearance from the notable preppies, but he wasn’t about to turn down a free meal. He shrugged, followed the black-haired prep inside. He only half-listened to the petty prattle that the boy almost instantly broke into as they followed the waiter to their table.

“So what’s this all about, anyways?”

Constantinos spoke with his mouth full of steak, partially hoping it would squick the preppie out. He didn’t seem to notice. In fact, he was eating rather gracelessly himself. He was still a teenage boy, after all.

He shrugged, at least having the decorum to finish his mouthful before responding.

“I don’t know what you’re referring to.”

“You know,” Constantinos tried to muster up an irritated tone, but having a full belly for the first time in what felt like months made him eerily cheery. “You didn’t invite me here just to talk at me about boxing and clothes. I know how this works. What’re you angling for?” The preppie furrowed his eyebrows, and his mouth pressed into a thin line of puzzlement. He filled his mouth with a forkful of pasta, as if to give himself a second to think.

“Uh, I thought this was what people do,” He admitted, naiveté radiating off his words that even Constantinos could recognize. “You know. To make friends?” Constantinos scoffed, if only out of bafflement. If the preppie weren’t so convincingly earnest, he would have thought that this was an obvious setup for a cruel prank.

“What, like a date?” He wrinkled his nose with a grimace, incredulous. The prep opened his mouth to object, silently closed it again. There was a charming vulnerability in his utter confusion. It was almost like speaking to an alien.

“No- No, this is what friends do. We’re just, uh… hanging out.” He spoke in statements, but said them like they were questions. “People like it when you buy them things.”

Constantinos couldn’t even begin to understand where the kid was coming from. How could any normal friendship come from such a formal, dispassionate, unbalanced encounter? It had felt more like a job interview than anything. He was suddenly very aware of the $75 worth of food in his stomach and the $25 still left on his plate.

He just forced out a brief, bitter chuckle and filled his mouth with another forkful.

“The school paper, eh? How quaint.”

Constantinos rolled his eyes. It had taken Parker a few outings to come to the realization that, perhaps, it would be a good idea to speak about anything but himself. Now, unfortunately, he was almost giddily inquisitive about everything Constantinos happened to be doing.

Today he had made the mistake of bringing his notepad in hopes of jotting down article ideas while he waited.

Constantinos had showed up early at the café, already ordered and paid for a black coffee. He didn’t want Parker to insist on paying for everything again- he felt enough like the preppie’s secret date already. They had agreed to meet at the less bougie café in Bullworth Town in hopes of avoiding Parker’s clique.

He could tell that Parker was confused and a little offended when he showed up and realized that Constantinos had already paid.

“You say that like you haven’t read it.” He sneered.

“Oh, I haven’t.”

“I shouldn’t be surprised,” Constantinos mumbled. “But aren’t you preppies all about gossip and reputation and all that crap? I would have expected you to be all over it.”

“Oh, certainly! I hear all the gossip. Gord reads it, then he tells Justin, and then Justin gives me the short version.” Constantinos barked out a laugh, which even surprised him a bit.

“Parker!” He admonished lightly. “I can’t believe you trust those snakes to tell you the truth. For all you know we’ve got a weekly segment in the back of the paper making fun of you.”

“You don’t, right?” Parker sounded genuinely concerned.

“If you read next week’s issue you’ll find out.” Constantinos teased.

“Why won’t you let me pay for your food anymore?” Parker asked the question with no build-up or pretense. His tone was a little sad.

Constantinos took a bite of his apple. The two of them sat in the grass outside of the school gate, far enough away to avoid notice from the other students.

“I don’t want to be a gold digger,” Constantinos joked, though his sentiment was true. He would never say it to Parker’s face, but his over-eagerness to buy him things made him just seem sad and pathetic.

“I don’t see what’s wrong with that,” Parker pouted. “Besides, if I’m not paying you then what incentive does that give you not to forget about me?” Parker said this matter-of-factly, curtly, almost as if he were offended that Constantinos hadn’t considered it.

Constantinos thought that his heart was a shriveled husk, but that gut-punch of a question was enough to make it bleed at least a little.

“Don’t be an idiot!” Was all he could think to say at first. How could Parker be so dense? The Prep was quiet. Constantinos sighed.

“Listen, because I’m not going to say it again,” Constantinos could feel himself blushing at the stupid cliché nonsense he knew he would have to say, and it made him angry. “I like you as a person. I like being around you. I’m not hanging around just for handouts, Parker. For god’s sakes, that’s how being friends is supposed to be.” He was too embarrassed to look Parker in the eyes, but to his chagrin he could see the preppie go misty with emotion in his peripheral vision.

Neither of them said another word for a bit out of mutual embarrassment. The sun was starting to set. Constantinos stood up when the street lamps blinked on, brushing himself off. He tossed his apple core into the bushes.

“Thanks, Constantinos,” Parker finally said, the smile audible in his voice. “I don’t know if anyone has ever said that to me before.” Constantinos was about done with the cutesy bullshit, so he nudged Parker lightly with the toe of his shoe.

“Alright, alright. We’re friends. We can quit being weird about it now.”


End file.
